Angels Camp, CA…The Calaveras Visitors Bureau (CVB) has announced its 2016 winners of the Innovations in Tourism Awards at its annual dinner at the Hotel Leger in Mokelumne Hill. Each year, the CVB recognizes an outstanding business that has gone above and beyond to attract visitors to Calaveras through new or unique ideas, products or services.

The CVB and their member businesses nominate businesses for the awards and then vote on the nominees. The nominee that receives the most votes overall becomes the overall winner for the year. There are six categories: Event, Attraction, Lodging, Restaurant, Retail and Recreation. Additionally, one overall winner is chosen from the six category winners.

This year’s overall winner is Calaveras Big Trees State Park, who also won in the Lodging category. The park now offer visitors the unique opportunity to stay overnight in one of its four cabins – each with its two bedrooms, kitchen, living room and private bath. The new indoor accommodations, along with the recently renovated visitor center have helped keep Big Trees at the top of the list for year round destinations in the county.

The other category winners were:

ATTRACTION Brice Station Vineyards for their Hilltop Concert Series and Shakespeare on the Vine, as well as for excellent social media engagement on Instagram.

EVENT Calaveras Arts Council for their Ovations Series, free Music in the Parks, and their new Ride4Art as a fundraiser for arts in local schools.

RETAIL Sierra Nevada Adventure Company for helping to develop the popularity of disc golf in Calaveras County, inspiring more courses to open up, donating outdoor recreation photography
for promotion on social media, and for providing top quality equipment, assistance and advice for visiting adventurers.

RECREATION Moaning Cavern Adventure Park for their Zip Line Pumpkin Smash, Caroling in
the Cave with Rappelling Santa and other Concerts in the Cave, bringing WiFi to the bottom of Moaning Cavern for social media sharing, and attempting a Pokemon Go lure drop – offering a discount on walk tours to Pokemon Go players.

RESTAURANT Alchemy for their world class selection of speciality beers and related beer blog, as well as highly regarded special events, including wine and beer pairings.

For more information on the Calaveras Visitors Bureau and becoming a CVB member, please visit www.gocalaveras.com or email the Calaveras Visitors Bureau at info@gocalaveras.com